


Break

by NervousAliceCurious



Series: Poisonous Little World [8]
Category: Escape the Night (Web Series), The Mist - Stephen King
Genre: Escaping Fate, F/M, Flight For Life, Grief, Loss, Parking Lot Of Death, Self-Defense, The Mist Will Devour You All, hopelessness, no one is safe, showdown
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-18
Updated: 2019-10-18
Packaged: 2020-12-21 15:54:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,964
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21077495
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NervousAliceCurious/pseuds/NervousAliceCurious
Summary: It's time to run.





	Break

**Author's Note:**

> Warnings: Blood, extreme gore, death, PTSD hints/panic.

“I missed you…”

Stephanie smiled, and MatPat’s heart stuttered at how close they’d come to losing her.

_Never again._

“Hi Smollie!”

The little baby gurgled excitedly, hands reaching eagerly for his momma!

“He was so good~” Manny cooed.

“He didn’t cry once”.

“Wow”.

Colleen was impressed.

“…Can I hire you as my babysitter full-time?”

_I am **never** leaving you behind again._

-

The time ticking towards dawn, the Patricks and their friends all gathered in the break room.

“Okay…”

He let out an exhausted breath.

“I think it’s high time we all got out of here”.

Rosanna nodded.

“Yeah”.

“We all saw what happened earlier today”, Safiya said gravely.

“…I don’t want to have to see it twice”, Husky confessed.

“Same here”.

Colleen rubbed at her eyes, disturbed.

“Especially considering what we found out afterward-“

“It just doesn’t add up”.

MatPat’s lips were drawn into a thin line.

“That person saves me and then _murders_ two people?

Two perfectly wonderful ones at that-“

Stephanie’s tone held back barely-controlled fire.

“We need to leave now and get help before we end up as sacrifices ourselves”.

Saf looked from one wan face to the other.

“…I feel kinda bad”.

Ro’s voice shook slightly.

“Everyone else will have to deal with them on their own…”

“No one’s gonna believe this ‘Cursed God’ b*s* anymore”, Mat reassured her.

“Not after Stephanie’s triumphant return and story of the ages…”

“We hope”, Colleen mumbled.

“If they do, though, at least we’ll be out of the war zone.

At least we’ll be well on our way to doing something about it from the outside”.

Steph was resolute.

“…Okay”.

The Miranda Sings YouTuber stood up.

“Okay, let’s do it.

Your car is still in the lot, right Mat?”

“Right”.

“Then I guess…we’re doing this”.

Husky anxiously ran a hand through his hair.

“We’re going”.

Rosanna silently leaned into his side.

-

Taking care to work as quietly as possible, they scooped up supplies, what little weaponry remained, the like, and were all set to journey out into the parking lot-

When they saw a certain woman seated on a chair.

Resting at either side, her loyal sisters.

“Hello”.

“Hi”.

The tension was so thick, one could physically cut it with a knife.

“You’re looking rather…well-stocked”.

“Yes”, Stephanie answered bravely.

“Thinking of abandoning the lot of us?”

Rosanna winced.

“No…”

“Maybe in _your_ twisted little mind”, Colleen snapped.

The lead Mistress of Pure Evil lightly scoffed.

“Sure. _Our_ minds are the ones that are twisted”.

She snapped her fingers.

As one, the threesome rose.

“Sisters…”

“Yes Belle?” asked one.

“We’re finally frying them?” confirmed the other.

“Yes. Yes we are”.

-Their eyes blazed a deep golden.

They each whipped out a sparking wand-

“Wh-what the-!?”

Ro felt a shiver sneak down her spine.

“What the h*!?”

Husky couldn’t believe what he was seeing!!

“Stay back-“ MatPat warned-

Maddened giggling.

Lucy came sidling from the aisles, sticky-tipped baseball bat thudding neatly into her palm-

Stephanie flash-backed to the one she’d left in a Spiders’ Nest, and began to shudder-

“Ooh~a bunch of mice about to escape the trap!!”

“Why?”

Riley sounded so heartbroken…

She couldn’t look at that green-stained knife.

“Why are you disappearing?

Aren’t you happy here?”

“Not particularly!” Husky said nervously-

“Ro”.

She froze.

“Ro…

You’ll become one of us, right?”

“Don’t you_ dare_ bring her into this!!” MatPat yelled.

“Remember what I told you?”

“I-“

“Don’t listen to her!” Safiya shouted.

“She’s trying to manipulate you-“

“Hush”.

Lucy danced toward them menacingly.

“Hush, hush, hush-“

Smollie began to whimper.

“No, no-

_No_ leaving this house~”

“Yes”.

The Lead Sister grinned wickedly.

“It would seem…another set of sacrifices are needed”.

“NO-!!”

Ro couldn’t sit through that again, she couldn’t-!

“Maybe, possibly-?”

The Cheerleader suddenly struck, arm lashing out to firmly grip Stephanie’s!!

“Tough Momma, and her sweet lil’ baby~”

“No-_no-!”_

Remembering the hard floor at her back, he_lpless, afraid for her life, afraid that she would nevermore see her beloved family, friends-_

BLARE

Lucy choked.

Blood-red bloom shining brilliantly upon her abdomen.

“Oh-“

“…”

** _BLARE!!_ **

Her eyes rolled back in her head as another flourished along her hairline.

She sank to the floor…

Dead.

-

_Oh my God I just killed her._

Colleen’s hands were like stone upon the trigger.

_I **killed** her-_

“Oh my God-“ Safiya echoed-

“Thank you thank you thank you-“

Stephanie’s free hand clutched at her sleeve, while baby Smollie wailed.

“What the f*!?” Nikita grumped sleepily.

“What’s-“ Gabbie struggled to turn over from her awkward sleeping spot by the deli counter-

_“Who’s shooting!?”_ Tyler yelped in a panic!!

“We should go-“

Mat hurried them all out the door, not even the dinging bell, and pouring outcry from behind enough to jar the blaring energy shots from her reeling, breaking mind.

-

“Hurry, hurry, hurry-“

Husky chanted it like a stabilizing mantra, low, under his breath, low, under his breath-

_Please don’t let us become monster chow this close to the end of the line!!_

The mist was thicker than ever.

Biting at their ankles as they ran-

Ran until their lungs were fit to bursting, hearts beating violently against the bones of their rib cage until it seemed as if they would beat their own way _out-_

“Wait!”

Rosanna turned to him and Safiya, panicked-

“Where’s everyone else-!?”

“I-I don’t know-!?”

He spun wildly in the fog, searching for any signs of them-

“We got lost? Did we get lost”.

Even the normally unflappable Safiya was starting to lose her cool.

-

“Mat-Mat they’re gone!!”

Stephanie was still fighting the claws of an hour ago, nerves shot to the sky-

“Ro, Husky, Saf-“

“I know,_ I know-“_

Her husband swore under his breath, while Smollie cried.

“They have to be out here…we have to find them.

We have to-“

-

“Let’s stay together…let’s stay calm”.

Rosanna breathed in and out.

_In_ and_ out._

“Let’s stay calm-“

She took both of their hands.

“Let’s not lose each other”.

“Right”.

Husky’s cheeks were pale, but he was putting up a pretty brave front.

“Right-“

“Yes”.

The muscles in Safiya’s arm were tense.

“Let’s-“

Clattering…

Hissing-!

Rosanna screamed as a giant thing with eight legs lashed out at her face!!

“NO!!”

Husky tried to grab ahold of her-

It was too big, and too fast, tackling her instantly to the ground-

“Nononono guys run!!

_Run-“_

Teeth tore into her upper jaw, and _raked._

The whole world erupted into a red-and-black blur.

“R…u…n…!!”

She gurgled…

Into oblivion.

-

“Found it!!”

Colleen was practically sobbing with relief!

“Found it, guys-“

She spun.

They weren’t there.

“…What the-!?”

…

_Where…?_

Ominous chewing noises from the mist bank.

_Oh **God…**_

“Guys?”

_Open the car, you idiot-_

** _I don’t have MatPat’s keys._ **

THOOM

_THOOM_

** _THOOM-_ **

A hulking.

Dark.

Shadow-

Colleen turned back to the mist, to find a giant, praying-mantis-esque beast looming over her.

“N-!!”

That was the last thing she ever said.

Snatched up too quickly to even freak out properly, pincers tearing hard at the waist, just like they’d done to that poor, unfortunate soul-

A ragged screech tore itself from her throat, as she suddenly and vividly was hit with a premonition of how Roi had met his end.

Her legs were lying upon the pavement.

While she watched.

Eyes twitching…

Organs dripping to the ground…

Blood spattering all over the windshield of MatPat’s car…

Blaster leaving a moderately-sized dent in the hood.

_I’m...sorry…Flynn…Erik…_

As the lights went out…

_I’m never going to see you again._

-

“There!”

MatPat felt his hope soar!!

“There’s the car-“

“Finally!” Stephanie cheered-

“No…”

“Nononono…”

…Colleen’s torso.

Just…

Sitting there.

Unmoving.

-

The headlights flickered.

Their escape vehicle beeping twice as it unlocked.

“…”

He couldn’t stop the tears from gathering at the corners of his eyes.

Stephanie, as well.

…

Smollie had given up the fight long ago.

Pounding bloody murder on the horn, they waited.

-

“RO!! _ROOOOOO!!!!”_

Husky’s heart was shattering into pieces!!

The sunshine of everyone’s life, the Heart of this entire town!!!

The sunshine of his life, the Heart of himself.

Dead…!

“Husky!”

Safiya’s hand connected hard with his cheek.

“Get ahold of yourself! Yes, it is horrifically tragic that she died, but she would want us to live!! For her!!! For MatPat, and Steph, and Smollie and Colleen-“

“We-“

“We need to keep going”.

He was shocked.

Tear tracks…

On her?

“We have to…”

The mist grew thicker.

Hissing-

_Not again not again, not again!!_

His own tears spilled over as they were slowly surrounded from all directions.

Eight-legged heralds of death, those monstrous…_nightmares_ that had snuffed out poor Rosanna’s life-!!

He couldn’t handle them.

He _couldn’t-!_

Spotting a thread through the gap, he took it.

Smacked back into the store.

“Please-please som_eone help us-!!”_

-

As for Safiya…

She’d been left behind.

…

“No-“

Acidic webbing tying up her legs.

“No-!”

Watching Husky vanish inside of a boarded-up storefront while they burned in agony.

“No!!”

_…Don’t you even-_

Spinning on her heel, pulling out more arrows, another lighter-

She raced around a row of parked vehicles.

Got the can ready to spray-!!

_Don’t you even **think** of betraying me!!!_

Snagged.

“NO!!”

Brought to the ground by an ambush force made of five, human-sized Widows.

Jaws gnashing and tearing at her chest, her neck, her entire, fr*king body-

She screamed i**n pain-**

Coppery-tasting liquid welling up in her throat, her lung cavity, suffocating her, muffling her cries, slowly, slowly—

...

-

“Where are they!?”

MatPat agitatedly swung from the rearview to the sideview-

“I don’t know-I don’t know!”

Stephanie’s voice was turning wet.

“I don’t know-!!”

“-Well, at any rate-“

He unhitched the front door a second time, and lunged outside to retrieve his friend’s fallen blaster.

“Colleen’s last gift won’t go to waste”.

-

No sooner had he yanked himself back inside than the ugly, snarling countenance of a killer spider bashed into their windshield!!

Steph let out a noise of fear!

It’d cracked-

“Shhh-“

MatPat put a steadying hand upon her shoulder.

“…”

“What-“

“If we’re quiet, maybe it’ll pass”.

…

Sitting there for a good .2 seconds, they were in for the most excruciating wait of their lives.

As it took it’s leisurely stroll up and over their roof…

Launching lightly onto their rear hood.

And stepping silently off into the night.

-

“Phew…”

Mat could afford to exhale for once!

It was a heck of a miracle…

Stephanie shuddered with stress.

“Wh-where-“

She asked it.

“Where is everyone else?”

-

He put the key in the ignition, engine roaring to life.

He slid the shift into ‘Drive’…

With a distinct lack of fanfare, they pulled out of their parking spot.

Circled through the entire lot a few times…

He could feel his anxiety rising.

_Where are they!?_

Along this circuit, they passed the storefront.

Drained, under-eye-shadowed YouTubers peering out what little glass-plating they had left…

Husky, no hope left in him.

At the very front.

…

And if _he_ had no hope.

Then.

“They’re dead…” Stephanie sobbed faintly.

“They’re all dead…”

Mat felt an iron fist of despair clutch at his heart.

_Ro…_

_Saf…_

_Colleen._

Threaten to overwhelm him-!

_No._

_I can’t-_

_I-_

_I can’t…_

_They-_

_We-_

Must.

Keep driving.

_We have to keep moving on._

_Because that’s what we decided._

_From the very start._

…

(Her laugh echoing in his ears…)

Some time later, he parked the car at the side of the road and _wept._

-

"So".

JC struggled to keep awake.

"How long until...?"

The other passenger in their beaten, borrowed sedan sighed.

"I don't know".

"...But it won't kill me, right?"

"It won't.

I can promise you that".

"Good".

He attempted to stretch out his legs.

Then remembered that they already were.

Three-quarters lost in the attack--

"Envy?"

"What?"

"...Do you think we'll be able to reach them in time?"

**Author's Note:**

> ...


End file.
